Today is the last day of the Ironman competition. I feel that the ending of my final part is not very satisfactory, and there are many parts that I couldn't fully introduce due to time constraints.
Challenging myself to write continuously for 30 days is indeed a very difficult task. I have come to understand that if there are similar opportunities in the future, I must be well-prepared in advance so that I don't have to hastily finish the article ending when unexpected situations occur.
At the same time, the theme of this challenge is webGL and 3D graphics, which I have never touched before. I initially thought that the first 10 days of learning would be enough to grasp the basics. However, in reality, understanding the application and writing of webGL shaders, utilizing the three.js API, and so on, all require corresponding knowledge of graphics theory as a supplement. Only then can I handle the framework with ease.
However, 10 days of learning is not enough. Just understanding the writing of GSGL takes a lot of time, not to mention its practical applications. Although we have frameworks to handle the underlying operations, if we need to go more advanced or make more powerful use of it, we must have a deeper understanding of the underlying operations.
As for aframe, I will find time to gradually complete it (if I have time QQ). In the future, I also hope to continue advancing on the path of 3D, making the presentation of front-end visuals more immersive.
This definitely requires time accumulation and practice, and it is more challenging than previous front-end development. However, in these 30 days, I have learned a lot of knowledge that I had no understanding of before. Shaders, which used to intimidate me, are now something I can write and understand. I have a basic understanding of the three.js API, and I have also looked into the development of webVR and got to know the aframe framework.
These 30 days can be considered the most fulfilling month (lol). I know that there are still many incomplete parts in this series of articles, but I hope that readers can gain some knowledge from them, more or less!
Afterword
Received an award. It can be considered as a summary of my 2016! There are so many things that I haven't properly documented.
When I saw the registration notice, I actually struggled for a long time. As you can imagine, there must be many people writing react and redux in the front-end this year. So why not try something I've been wanting to try for a long time but haven't had the chance to, like webGL?
I have always been interested in interactive visuals, but for an engineer, dealing with animation logic is a tedious and boring task. Although what I learned this month is far from website development, and I rarely get to apply it in actual development (there's not even enough time for squeezing the schedule, who has time for special effects?), learning this knowledge and broadening my horizons is still a good thing, isn't it?
More and more companies are demanding data visualization from front-end developers. What used to be considered boring and dull is now being valued in the era of big data. The requirements for this direction are the ability to work with canvas and webGL operations. However, there are already many frameworks available to handle the underlying APIs for you. But as a front-end developer, it is still important to have a basic understanding of the underlying operations. Otherwise, one day, abstraction will still come knocking on your door.